Just Another Night at Freddy's: The Golden Years
by DeltaV
Summary: <html><head></head>A collection of one-shots set before the murders and the Bite. A nice little side project when it's too hectic to work on one of the nights. Also where I plan on putting holiday specials! Nothing too dark here, so expect some pretty happy tales! Rated T for "language you wouldn't use in front of Grandma." Mostly done for humor. PG-13, y'all.</html>
1. A Whole Lot of Firsts

**One-shot #1: An Awful Lot of Firsts, 1982**

Freddy Fazbear and the gang had just finished their final night of Mr. Fazbach's "Sensitivity Training," meaning that they could now roam around the restaurant on their own, as opposed to having guided conversations as an act. The entire Fazbear clan was nervous, and excited, for their first time mingling with humans. Nathan instilled some advice on the final night of training.

"Alright, guys, this is it! You're going out among the people now, so be ready!" Nathan had said, "Just remember: If you're creeping them out, move on. If you're scaring them, move on. If they seem upset, make them feel good. Got it?" The animatronics nodded, and Nathan clapped his hands.

"Great! Knock 'em dead!" he encouraged.

"What!?" Freddy exclaimed.

"Relax, it's an expression. It means good luck," Nathan explained gently.

"Why didn't ya just say that?" Chica asked.

"Aye, if it be meaning tha same…" Foxy agreed.

"Guys, look, you're gonna have to learn this stuff. Don't go biting my head off," Nathan said. Foxy took several steps toward the mechanic.

"Expression!" Nathan cried, raising his hands up and backing away. Foxy grinned.

"I know," the fox said.

"That's not funny," Nathan shot back, "Not with your teeth." Foxy paused, and frowned.

"Please, both of you, just stop," Freddy policed, "That's incredibly morbid."

"Alright, but seriously, good luck tomorrow guys," Nathan said, and grabbed his tool box and walked out.

Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica kept Nathan's advice in mind as they waited behind the curtain of the show stage. Bonnie fidgeted with her guitar, wringing the neck with her paws. Chica would occasionally huff, and shift her weight from foot to foot, while Freddy was starting to cause his microphone to warp in his grip. The usual recorded voice introduced them.

"Okay kids, get ready! It's time for Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica! Presenting, the Freddy Fazbear Band!"

Music began to play, and the curtain rose up. The animatronics were greeted with a cheer from the crowd, and immediately the show began to start as usual.

"Hi kids! It's me, Freddy! Are you ready to have a good time?" Freddy asked cheerfully.

"Yeah!" the kids in the Dining Hall shouted in unison.

"Great! C'mon, gang! Let's do it!" Freddy prompted, and they began to sing their usual songs. Through the show, they could see one of Foxy's eyes looking out through a small slit in the Pirate's Cove curtain, watching with a smile. The show consisted of several songs, usually pizza-themed parodies of popular songs or kid favorites, spaced out by friendly banter between the members of the band. These were usually filled with groan inducing puns.

Finally, the last song was sung, and the music died down, followed by applause. Most of the children returned to their food, and the adults to their conversations. While most of the guests were distracted, Bonnie leaned her guitar up backstage, Freddy replaced his microphone to its stand while Chica observed the crowd, occasionally waving to a child. The animatronics grouped together, and took a collective moment, then stepped off the stage into the audience.

Initially, nobody seemed to notice the animatronics were on their own, expecting the usual questions and answers, until a family noticed Bonnie standing behind them, looking over their shoulders with interest. The kids squealed in delight.

"Hi!" Bonnie greeted, beaming. The parents reeled in shock, and the father got up and spoke to the manager.

"Um, your robots aren't onstage," the father said, pointing to Bonnie and the others, who were talking to his family.

"Oh, yes, that's fine! They're programmed to walk around, and interact," the manager explained, "Don't worry about them."

"Alright…" the father said uncertainly, and walked back to the table.

"…and Chica makes the pizza!" Bonnie was telling the family, and the kids gasped, looking at their slices, then to the bird. The mother turned to her husband as he walked up.

"Is everything alright with…?" the mother asked, tilting her head in the direction of Freddy and the others.

"Yeah, it's fine. Supposed to happen," the father said.

"Okay…" the mother said, not trusting the machines. Bonnie turned to her.

"And are you having fun?" the rabbit asked.

"O-oh, um, yes, lots of fun," the mother said nervously.

"Fantastic! You know, if you want, we coul-," Bonnie got cut off by Freddy.

"That's enough, Bonnie, leave them be," Freddy told her gently, "Let's go greet some of the others." He led the others to a new table, this one home to what appeared to be a church excursion group. The chaperones watched them with a smile as the robots greeted and talked with the children, when the first challenge appeared: the first real hug. A girl wanted to hug Chica, and the chicken faltered.

"Um…" Chica said, looking to Freddy, who nodded encouragingly. She awkwardly crouched to the girl's level, and spread her arms. The girl ran forward, and Chica gently gave her a hug, letting go quickly. The girl smiled, then ran back to her chair. If Chica could breathe, she would have sighed in relief, and stood up.

Then a man walked up and asked for a picture, leaving his two sons to stand in front of Freddy with Bonnie and Chica on either side. The camera flashed, and the animatronics blinked in surprise. The man chuckled, thanked them, and went back to the table.

Glancing back to Pirate's Cove, Bonnie could see Foxy had practically poked his entire head out in anticipation. Freddy noticed as well, and waved him over. Foxy grinned, and opened his curtain.

"Ahoy!" he called out happily, stepping out of the Cove and into the Dining Hall, raising his hooked hand in greeting. Foxy looked around at the room, seeing many of the guests now staring at him, and he checked himself to make sure he had his eye patch lowered. It was, thankfully, and the pirate joined the others.

The fox noticed immediately that he unnerved a lot more people than the band had. Understandable, since he was a pirate, the scourge of the seas. But he wasn't _bad,_ not really. Eventually, one person did actually walk up to him. It was an adult, a woman, probably in her early twenties.

"Man, you look awesome!" she said, and held up a camera, "Can I get a picture?"

"O'course, lass," Foxy told her, smiling.

"Sweet!" the woman said, and handed her camera to a passing employee. As Foxy struck a pose, the woman put an arm around him, giving a half-hug. Foxy stiffened. Feeling the woman's skin felt… weird. He didn't like the sensation of it at all. The woman noticed, and turned to the fox.

"You okay?" she asked. Foxy quickly shook it off.

"Fine, lass, fine!" he said quickly, and turned towards the employee.

"Smile!" the employee said, and took a picture. Foxy started to pull away, but the woman held tight.

"Hang on, one more?" she asked.

"I don' see tha harm…" Foxy said, the constant touching starting to get him frustrated.

"Alright! Could you crouch down a bit? Can't quite reach ya up there," the woman told the tall animatronic. Foxy looked at her, puzzled, and slowly crouched down, his head now level with the woman's.

"Like tha'?" he asked.

"Perfect," the woman said, and kissed him on the cheek, holding the pose for the camera. Foxy froze in surprise, before growling in annoyance. Wait. _Growl?_ Foxy quickly stifled it, and nobody seemed to notice. Again, Foxy ignored his growing hatred of the contact for the sake of the customer, and forced a smile. The camera flashed again, and the fox quickly slipped away, puzzled by his new emotions.

He felt… like growling again. He did _not_ like it when the woman touched him, and wasn't sure why. He'd ask Nathan about it later. Looking back at the others, he noticed Chica grinning at him, and Foxy felt the urge to growl once more. Bonnie was also looking at him, but she was smiling in excitement.

"Isn't this great?" she asked, walking up to him.

"Aye," Foxy agreed, forgetting about the incident that happened just minutes before. Suddenly, the same announcer came over the speaker.

"Alright, boys and girls, it's almost time for the Pirate's Cove show! Hey, Captain Foxy, why aren't you on your ship?" the voice asked, subtly cuing the fox.

"Blast!" Foxy exclaimed, and sprinted for the stage. Freddy and the others stared after him, never having seen the pirate run before.

"Whoa. Did you see _that_?" Chica asked.

"I didn't know we could run," Bonnie observed.

"We've never had to. We should try tonight, see how it works," Freddy decided. The three went backstage to avoid stealing attention away from Foxy.

Back in Pirate's Cove, Foxy stood onstage, listening to the murmur of the crowd. Then the usual Caribbean music began to play, and the curtain rose up, revealing Foxy standing on his "ship," hand and hook on his hips, grinning at the audience.

"Ahoy, mateys!" he greeted.

"Ahoy!" some of the children cried. Foxy crossed his arms.

"That don' be sounding like pirates, lads," Foxy said, "I said, Ahoy mateys!"

"Ahoy!" came the roaring reply.

"Tha's better!" Foxy praised, "Now then, who thinks they be ready to join me crew?" A sea of hands shot up. Foxy's grin grew wider, though he was careful not to bare his teeth.

"Excellent! Now, how many of ya joined me crew before?" Foxy then asked. Roughly a quarter of the hands raised again.

"I see. Well, there be a little change, lads," Foxy explained, "Fer one…" Foxy walked forward and carefully dropped off of the stage. The children were surprised, and crawled back.

"I be allowed ashore," Foxy explained, "And there be games, with prizes," The children started murmuring excitedly. Prizes?

"Now, I needs ya ta split inta two groups. Can ye do that?" Foxy asked. The children all nodded, and soon the audience was divided into two nearly equal groups. Foxy climbed back onstage and opened his treasure chest, pulling out a length of rope that had a knot tied in the middle.

"We're gonna play a bit o' tug o' war," Foxy said, and some of the kids cheered, "Tha winnin' team gets eyepatches." Two staff members grabbed the rope from Foxy, and set up little plastic cones on the carpeted "dock" before exiting. The kids all grabbed the rope, and braced to begin to pull. Foxy climbed down to act as referee.

"Ready, an', GO!" Foxy ordered, slashing his hook through the air in excitement. The kids all started yelling and cheering as they pulled and pulled.

"C'mon, mateys, put yer backs into it!" Foxy cheered, waving his hook. Suddenly, the team on Foxy's right gave a large collective pull. This caught the other team off guard, and they were pulled to the floor, landing in a heap. The winning team cheered, while those unfortunate enough to have wound up on the bottom started crying out for help.

_Uh oh,_ Foxy thought, worried his mateys were hurt.

"C'mon, lads, up ya get!" Foxy encouraged, acting as a brace to help some of the fallen children stand. One little girl held her knee, which sported a nasty rug burn, and was on the verge of tears. She had been on the bottom of the pile.

"Don' cry, matey, let's get ya on yer feet," Foxy said, pulling the girl aloft by the back of her shirt with his good hand. He set her on the stage.

"You rest up on me ship 'till ya fell better, savvy?" Foxy told the girl, "I'll get some help. Wha's yer name?"

"Darian," the girl sniffed.

"That be a fine name, tha' be!" Foxy said, then addressed the others, "I'll be right back, lads, got cap'n business ter do." He exited through the Cove's exterior curtains that blocked the noise of the restaurant, and stepped into the Dining Hall. He waved over an employee, who looked confused, and pointed to himself, mouthing, "Me?"

Foxy nodded, and beckoned again. The employee walked over nervously, not really confident on talking to a large metal fox.

"What's up?" he asked.

"There be a girl in there, scraped her knee. Can ye help? I don' know what ta do," Foxy admitted.

"Uh… Sure," the employee said, and followed Foxy back into Pirate's Cove. Inside, the children that won started asking for their prize. Foxy ignored them, instead focused on the girl sitting on the edge of the stage, occasionally sniffing. The employee walked up to her.

"Hey," he said, "You okay?"

"My knee," the girl replied.

"Let's have a look," the employee said, and the girl took her hands off the afflicted knee.

"Ouch! C'mon, let's get you to the nurse," the employee told her, and lifted her off the stage, then walking her out of the Cove. His deed done, Foxy returned his attention to the children once again.

"Sorry abou' tha' lads, let's get yer prizes," Foxy told them, and the children cheered.

Later that night, the animatronics were gathered on stage, swapping stories of their first day being able to roam while Nathan performed his inspection.

"And this little girl had a bow on her hair just like mine!" Bonnie said, happily pointing to her bowtie, "It was so cute!"

"I visited the kitchens. Who knew making pizza was so easy?" Chica said. Nathan scoffed.

"Don't let the cooks hear that. You're lucky they didn't kick you out," Nathan told her. The back of Freddy's head was open, and the mechanic was checking the series of pulleys and wires that allowed Freddy's face to move.

"I had this one young man, he wanted to wear my top hat," Freddy said. Nathan swore and pull his hands out.

"Don't talk, you almost cut my finger off!" Nathan said, sucking on the cut on his ring finger.

"I'm sorry!" Freddy apologized, turning to face him. Nathan waved his hand dismissively.

"Never mind, never mind, turn," he ordered, and went back to work.

"What about you, Foxy?" Bonnie asked. The fox grinned.

"Me crew and I had so much fun! Except for Darian, poor lass," Foxy said.

"Who?" Chica asked.

"A lil' lass tha' scraped her knee. I took care o' it, though," Foxy told the group proudly.

"Nice logic there, Foxy, you remembered training," Nathan praised, wiping lubricant off of his hands with a rag. A happy silence fell, except for the little clicks and clacks the animatronics made as they looked around.

"Nathan?" Foxy suddenly asked.

"Yeah?" Nathan replied, digging through his tool box.

"Did ye know I can growl?" the fox asked.

"Growl?" Nathan asked, confused, "What do you mean?"

"When this wench touched me, I felt… weird… like I was all hot," Foxy explained. Nathan laughed.

"That might be love, buddy," he teased.

"No… It wasn't… happy… then I growled," Foxy told the mechanic. Nathan looked confused.

"That might be anger," Nathan surmised, "Do you like being touched?"

"No' really, no," Foxy replied.

"Huh. Okay, well, I'll look into it. Just ignore it, for now, and avoid getting touched if it bugs you. What about kids?" Nathan asked, worried Foxy would get angry with them.

"The little mateys are fine, they're me crew! It's the landlubbers I don' like," Foxy said, "'Cept, you, o' course."

"Gee, thanks," Nathan said, rolling his eyes, "Just don't let it bug you, and avoid that kind of thing, you'll be fine. I'll look into it."

"Thanks, mate," Foxy said gratefully, mind put at ease.

"I gotta say, you guys really are learning fast," Nathan said, "I mean, when we first turned you guys on, all you did was look around blankly. Yeah, we got your character stuff going, but beyond the show, everything else is on you. It's kinda scary, actually."

"We're scary?" Bonnie asked, concerned, "I don't want to be scary."

"And that's why you're not," Nathan comforted, "You don't want to be. Amazing you guys care."

"Why wouldn't we?" Freddy asked.

"Well, you know, you guys are machines, and yet you have emotions, apparently. It's a big deal," Nathan explained.

"I guess," Chica said, "I don't feel all that special."

"Well, you don't know any different," Nathan told her, "Believe me, you guys are something else."

"Why thank you, Nathaniel," Freddy told the mechanic.

"Why do you use my full name?" Nathan asked.

"It's polite," Freddy replied.

"You're like a robotic, bear-shaped Fazbach," Nathan said, shaking his head in mock dismay. Freddy just grinned. Nathan went around and latched the back of the bear's head.

"Well, that does it for me, guys, go on back to your places, I'll power you down," Nathan told them. The animatronics nodded, and walked to their spots. Nathan walked to each animatronic individually.

"'Night Chica," he told the bird.

"'Night, Nate," she replied, and Nathan powered her down, eyes darkening. He walked over to Bonnie.

"'Night, Bon," Nathan told her.

"Goodnight, Nathan!" she said happily, and she was powered down as well.

"'Night Freddy," Nathan told the bear.

"And to you, Nathaniel!" Freddy said cheerfully as he was turned off. Nathan walked over to Pirate's Cove, pushing through the curtain to find Foxy standing onstage.

"'Night, Foxy," Nathan said.

"G'night, lad," Foxy replied, and he was powered down as well. Walking through the restaurant and switching off the lights, Nathan whistled to himself as he walked out of the double doors at the front, stopping to lock the doors, before heading home.

_**A/N: I'm still alive, see? To give you an idea of how much time I DON'T have, this one one-shot took me three days to write. That's jacked up. I've gotten some wonderful reviews and PMs recently, and it seems like a few of you fine folks wanted to make comics, and fan art, and things, which is spectacular. **_

_** I know I've said it before, but I'm extremely grateful (and lucky!) to have gained such a following. I promise, Night Four is on the way, but I couldn't just leave you hanging with nothing, so here's some bread so you can spoil that expensive Italian dinner you're about to eat. I just need life to throttle down, so Night Four is on the backburner at the moment. **_

_** I'm still not saying anything about the "secret project," since I don't want anyone to steal my idea before I make it, but rest assured it's being made. Night Four will most likely come out first. **_

_** Until then, I'm not dead, I'm not finished, and you guys are seriously great. Thanks for being patient! –DeltaV**_


	2. The First Halloween

**Golden Years: Halloween, 1982**

As summer came to an end and fall brought with it its colder weather, the animatronics noticed that their weekday business practically disintegrated while their weekend business soared. It was a little bit sad to see most of the children stop visiting as often, and most of their attendees were children that were very young, or people that just wanted the buffet lunch.

In fact, as October arrived, there were so few children during the week that some days the band didn't even play, and just wandered around the mostly empty restaurant, talking to the staff or the few patrons that were there, until the children that came for the dinner rush arrived. Then it was business as usual.

Since Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria had been opened for several months, all of the initial hype surrounding the business had officially declined, with most of the customers now from the surrounding neighborhoods. They were still busy during prime hours, but faces started to become more and more familiar. This passage of time also resulted in the staff becoming much more adjusted to talking and interacting with the animatronics, and vice-versa. While the mechanic Nathan would always be their favorite, the robots began to bond with other staff members as well.

Chica was becoming friends with the cooks, who taught her how they made the pizza. The bird felt an interesting draw to cooking, probably because it was something else to do. After the pizzeria closed, and while Nathan worked on the others, she would sneak into the Kitchen to try the new things she learned. This typically resulted in a mess, especially when Chica tried to knead dough and spilled flour everywhere. Nathan nearly had an aneurism when she walked up for inspection completely coated in white powder.

Freddy, on the other hand, had gained a similar respect that Mr. Fazbach received, considered to be in a position of authority for anything related to the animatronics or their performances. This puzzled him, since the bear wasn't entirely sure why other employees looked up to him, in a sense. The other animatronics, even Foxy, thought of Freddy as a "big brother," and often confided in him with any problems they had. That was understandable, he experienced many of the same kinds. But employees began doing the same, and Freddy had no idea how to handle human problems.

"I'm just not sure she likes me, you know?" one of the waiters, George, said to the bear one day.

"I'm afraid I don't know, really," Freddy admitted honestly, straightening a table, "I don't have relationship experience."

"Well, maybe not. But you're a good listener," George replied, and headed off to grab the finished plates left by one of the few patrons they had at this hour. Freddy shrugged to himself. He always listened to people's problems.

Bonnie was the most liked by the rest of the staff, her constant happiness and friendliness infectious. She always greeted each staff member in the morning, and said good bye at the end of their shift when she could, and knew all of them by name. All of the animatronics did, since they had the memory for it. But Bonnie would always say hello.

The only one that had any real difficulty seemed to be Foxy, since it became apparent over time that he had gained quite a temper and at the absolute worst could even be violent. It never, ever occurred with children, for which he had a bottomless supply of patience, but anyone older than 18 seemed to rub the metal fox the wrong way. He wasn't exactly mean, but was usually a little bit irritable when he couldn't perform or was having difficulties with something.

Nathan wasn't particularly worried, since Foxy hadn't hurt anyone (the worst incident was Foxy flipping a table in frustration upon being told that his show wouldn't be running for the third day in a row.) The mechanic would work with him, trying to get him to control his anger. Foxy seemed to be the only one who experienced that emotion, and it was a real struggle for him to get a handle on it.

That being said, there were a few people on the staff (besides Nathan) that enjoyed the fox's company. One of their newest waitresses, Karissa, who just graduated from high school, adored Foxy, and would flock to him whenever he was wandering around. Foxy didn't seem to mind, and enjoyed the attention. The other staff members were concerned, seeing romantic undertones in the waitress's actions and knowing very well Foxy's aversion to physical contact. But nothing happened. Yet.

* * *

><p>About halfway through the month of October, Freddy and the others noticed that decorations were starting to be put up. Things like cotton cobwebs and pumpkins soon sat in corners or on tables, which had their usual rainbow tablecloths replaced with orange and black ones, with little pumpkins with odd grins.<p>

"What's all this stuff for?" Chica asked Nathan one night, picking up a pumpkin. Nathan looked up from his notes.

"Halloween," he answered simply, looking back down.

"And this orange thing?" Chica continued. This time, Nathan didn't even look up.

"That's a pumpkin. We carve shapes in them for the holiday," he explained.

This caught Bonnie's interest.

"Carving? Like faces and stuff?" she asked, picking up a pumpkin as well and turning it around in her paws.

"Yeah, or pictures, or whatever. Then you put a candle or light inside, and it turns into a lantern. A Jack o' Lantern," Nathan replied, scribbling something down on his notepad.

"And who's Jack? A pumpkin?" Chica asked. Nathan laughed.

"No. I don't know, it's just a name for it. Maybe some guy named Jack invented it," Nathan said.

"Can we make one?" Bonnie asked. Nathan rubbed the back of his neck.

"No offense, but I don't want you guys handling knives," Nathan told her.

"Please?" Bonnie asked again. Nathan shook his head.

"No," he replied.

Bonnie pouted, and tried to give puppy dog eyes.

"Doesn't work when you're bigger than me," Nathan told her, crossing his arms.

By now, Freddy and Foxy had overheard the discussion, and walked over to where the mechanic was seated in the Dining Hall.

"Wha's all this abou' pu'pkins?" Foxy asked, "Also, wha's a pu'pkin?"

Nathan pointed to a small pumpkin sitting on the middle of the table he sat at.

"That's a _pu'pkin_," Nathan replied, copying Foxy's accent.

"I always thought those be some sort o' odd cannonball. Never could figure out why they be orange," Foxy observed, picking the gourd up with his good hand.

Nathan leaned back and sighed, already guessing the fox's next question.

"Before you ask, they're for Halloween. We carve shapes and faces on them, and put a candle in it, and make it a light," Nathan explained once Foxy opened his mouth to speak again.

"Well, can we make one?" Foxy asked, tossing the small pumpkin into the air and catching it.

"I don't want you guys using knives," Nathan said.

Freddy nodded.

"I agree. Those are dangerous," Freddy said.

"Thank you!" Nathan said, throwing his hands up in the air.

Foxy, meanwhile, began staring at the pumpkin and his hook, noting its sharp point. Putting two and two together, he stabbed his hook into the pumpkin, and began trying to carve it. He succeeded in annihilating the small gourd, sending pumpkin guts flying everywhere.

"Blast it!" Foxy exclaimed, shaking his hook clean, "Why do these be filled with gunk?" He began to brush the guts off of his suit.

Nathan wiped a bit of slime off of his face,

"Damn it Foxy!" he scolded, "I just told you no!"

"I wan'ed to carve a pu'pkin!" Foxy shot back, growling. Freddy put a paw on the fox's shoulder.

"Temper, Foxy," Freddy reminded, and Foxy closed his eyes, trying to calm himself.

"Righ', sorry," Foxy apologized to the mechanic.

"It's fine," Nathan replied, "Now help me clean this up."

* * *

><p>About twenty minutes later, the last bits of Foxy's attempt at pumpkin carving had been thrown in the trash. Nathan returned to his chair, and wrote down more notes.<p>

"What are you writing about?" Bonnie asked, reading over his shoulder.

"Notes about you guys. For example, _Foxy attempted to carve pumpkin. Result: Unsuccessful, and very messy," _Nathan said, writing down the words he just spoke. Foxy glared at him.

"So what else do people do on this 'Halloween' thing?" Chica asked.

"Trick or treating is a big one," Nathan replied, closing his notebook, "Basically, kids dress up in costumes and go around their neighborhood, knocking on doors and getting candy."

"That sounds fun! Can we do that?" Bonnie asked. The others looked at him excitedly as well, even Freddy.

"That sounds wonderful!" Freddy agreed, "That's not too unreasonable, right?" The animatronics looked at the mechanic hopefully. If Freddy approved…

"Hate to shoot down all of your ideas, guys, but you aren't allowed outside the restaurant. That's the _biggest_ rule, and they'd fire me if I let you out," Nathan replied, "Besides. You guys don't eat."

Bonnie nodded sadly.

"That's true. And I'd hate to make you lose your job," she said.

Nathan frowned. So far, everything he had told them about the holiday was what they _couldn't _do. No pumpkin carving, no trick or treating, nothing. He felt bad. The group seemed dejected and disappointed.

He slammed his hands against the table.

"Tell you what, I'll talk to Mr. Fazbach and see if we can stay open later and hand out candy. Maybe he'll even let you wear costumes," Nathan told the animatronics. Freddy beamed.

"Good idea! It'll be wonderful to see the children so excited!" Freddy commented.

"Yay! Thank you, Nathan!" Bonnie said, pulling the mechanic off his chair and into a tight hug.

"Don't thank me yet, I still need to get permission from the boss," Nathan wheezed, trying to push Bonnie's arms away so he could breathe better. "Air!" he called, and Bonnie let go, looking at him sheepishly.

"Sorry," Bonnie apologized.

Nathan took several deep breaths, nodding in forgiveness.

"It's fine," he replied, "C'mon, let's power you guys down, it's getting late."

* * *

><p>Several days later, on October 21st, Nathan finally got an answer.<p>

"Mr. Fazbach loved the idea," Nathan announced, and the animatronics cheered, Bonnie giving the mechanic another crushing hug, actually lifting him off of the ground.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, swinging him back and forth.

"Bonnie! Put me down!" Nathan cried, and started gasping once Bonnie released him, "Do you remember _nothing_ about the watermelons?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just excited! This'll be so much fun!" Bonne cried, bouncing on her toes.

Freddy also thanked Nathan, taking off his hat with a flourish and bowing as well as he could.

"Thank you, Nathaniel, this is wonderful news!" Freddy said, looking up with a smile. Nathan shook his head.

"So dramatic," he told the bear, who grinned back.

Chica spoke up.

"What were you saying about costumes?" she asked. Nathan sat back down in his chair.

"Well, kids dress up as stuff, like pirates. It's fun," Nathan explained. Foxy perked up.

"Pirates?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, and other stuff too, but pirates are pretty popular," Nathan replied.

Foxy grinned widely, flashing all of his teeth. This was shaping up to be really exciting!

"So what would we dress up as?" Chica asked. Nathan shrugged.

"I don't know. What do you want to go as?" he asked.

"I never really thought about it," Chica admitted, "What would I dress up as?"

"Technically, you're wearing a costume," Nathan pointed out, "That's what makes you look like you do. A suit."

There was a pause as the animatronics pondered this.

"I guess we're all set then," Chica said, shrugging.

"It'd probably be really hard to get clothes that fit you anyway. Even Foxy's pants are just his suit's legs," Nathan agreed.

Foxy examined his legs curiously. Nathan was right, there was no fur underneath them, and exaggerated cuffs around his ankles and waist gave the illusion of clothing. The fox did have two other articles of clothing, a coat and a hat, but the coat restricted his movements and could get caught in his joints, and that hat constantly fell off, so he often went onstage without them.

"So what else would we need?" Bonnie asked.

"Just candy," Nathan replied, "and we'll handle all of that."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Freddy asked eagerly.

"No, I think we'll be okay. Relax, guys, it's still, like, ten days away," Nathan said, "Now c'mon, it's time you all powered off."

* * *

><p>Those ten days dragged as slow as a ship trying to sail with its anchor snagged on rocks for Foxy. He still had his show to keep him occupied, but every free moment was spent wondering what Halloween would be like. The excitement permeated the air among everyone else too, being the topic of nearly every child's conversation. This made the wait even more excruciating for the animatronics, especially the week Halloween fell on, when the staff started dressing in costume, even Nathan.<p>

"The heck are you supposed to be?" Chica asked, staring at the unmoving wolf's head mask on the mechanic's head. When he arrived, Freddy and the others assumed he was a new addition to the band, being covered by shaggy gray hair poking out under a flannel shirt and jeans. They were surprised when underneath the wolf head was Nathan's smirking face.

"It's a werewolf, Chica," Nathan explained, taking off the mask again.

"And what's that?" Chica continued.

"Basically a guy that turns into a wolf on the night of a full moon. Pretty cool, huh? I made the mask myself," Nathan said proudly.

"It's… nice," Chica commented, not really approving of the look.

"Oh, so now you're a costume expert," Nathan shot back with a grin.

"Not like you know one," Chica immediately fired back. Nathan's eyes widened, and he took out his notepad, scribbling furiously.

"_Dialogue…responses…increasing in speed…" _Nathan said aloud to himself, "_Sarcasm… apparent…_ that's new."

Chica stared at him curiously, and when he continued to write, rolled her eyes and walked away. Nathan flicked his notepad closed with a snap, and cradled the wolf mask under his arm as he walked towards the Show Stage.

Freddy and Foxy had been hunched over… something since realizing that Nathan wasn't a new animatronic. They talked to each other in low voices, turning their volume down to a barely audible level. Nathan walked over.

"What are you two up to?"Nathan asked, trying to look over their shoulders. The two robots straightened and whirled around.

"Oh, hello Nathaniel. I thought you were talking with Chica in the Kitchen," Freddy said hurriedly, standing shoulder to shoulder with Foxy, hiding whatever they were working on.

"Yeah, I was. Whatcha' got there?" Nathan asked, standing on his toes.

"Nothin' tha' concerns ye," Foxy replied, starting to inch slowly towards Backstage, Freddy following, hands behind his back.

Nathan crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

"What's behind your backs?" the mechanic asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Freddy said smoothly, continuing to slowly creep backstage. Nathan glared at him like a parent.

"Show me. _Now._" Nathan demanded.

Freddy and Foxy fidgeted under the mechanic's angry gaze. For anyone watching, it would have been amusing to see the large robots wither under the smaller man's stare. Freddy nodded, and brought a pumpkin out from behind his back. It was almost carved, all the letters of the word "Freddy" cut out except for the "y".

Foxy, on the other hand, guiltily pulled out from behind his back a large kitchen knife. Nathan leaned back in surprise.

"Foxy, put that down!" Nathan ordered. Foxy obeyed, and set it on the stage. "I thought I told you guys not to touch that stuff! Where'd you get that?"

Foxy looked down. "Tha Kitchen," he replied. Nathan picked up the knife and set it on a nearby table, and took the pumpkin from Freddy and turned it over in his hands.

It had a hole cut in the top, and the guts had been scooped out. The cuts were rough, coming from a knife made for dicing things like tomatoes, but had an astounding degree of precision.

"We jus' be wan'ing ta carve a pu'pkin," Foxy explained, still staring guiltily at the floor.

"Yes. We were each going to make pumpkins with our names on them," Freddy also explained, "I found the knife, so I went first. Foxy helped me get all the gunk and seeds out."

Nathan looked at them, and scratched his head. He couldn't blame them for wanting to participate. After all, Halloween was tomorrow. Before he could think of what to say, Foxy spoke up.

"Are ye mad?" Foxy asked. Nathan was surprised at the innocence of the question, and then it hit him. Kids. They were acting like the kids they entertained. Their A.I., programmed to learn, was developing a child's interests and reactions to problems. Even for the more mature and logical Freddy.

They were more intelligent, yes, and self-sufficient, but the mechanic realized that all they knew about the world mostly came from children, and the animatronics looked at Nathan as a sort of fatherly figure. Especially now, with Foxy's usual "pirate" persona having been replaced with a child caught in a lie.

"No, I'm not mad," Nathan said gently, "I'm disappointed in you. Both of you. What did I tell you not to do?" Freddy scuffed his feet on the tile floor.

"You told us not to use a knife to carve a pumpkin," Freddy replied, staring at the floor.

"And did you?" Nathan asked. Foxy nodded.

"Aye. We did," Foxy replied softly, "And I be sorry fer it."

"Good. Apology accepted. Now go grab three more," Nathan said, sitting down at the table he set the knife on. Freddy and Foxy looked up.

"Pardon?" Freddy asked.

"Go grab three more pumpkins. Big ones, like this one. Oh, and ask Chica for a bowl or something. I said _you _couldn't use the knife. But I can, now hurry up, we don't have all night," Nathan told the pair, starting to carve out the final letter.

Freddy and Foxy grinned in surprise, and dashed off, gathering the necessary supplies.

* * *

><p>Nathan worked diligently, with Freddy and Foxy assisting by scooping out the pumpkin guts. Soon, pumpkins with each of the characters names' on them were lined up on the Show Stage. Bonnie and Chica noticed these once they left the Kitchen.<p>

"Oh wow!" Bonnie exclaimed, picking up the one with her name on it.

"Cool," Chica agreed, picking up hers as well.

"Yeah, well, you're welcome. Consider it a Halloween present," Nathan replied, "Now get in places guys, it's _super_ late, and I got other work in the morning."

The animatronics nodded, and got prepped for powering down. Nathan moved to each one, saying good night to each robot as he hit the manual switch in the back of their heads.

* * *

><p>The next day, Halloween, which was on a Saturday, saw Freddy's packed to the brim with children, all in costume. It brought a smile to Foxy's face when he saw many of them sported pirate hats and bandannas, brandishing plastic swords. Not wanting to be out-pirated, the metal fox dug through his treasure chest, pulling out his captain's tricorn, long burgundy coat, and his prop cutlass. It was a metal reproduction, but made safe by using a light metal and keeping it dull. The tip had even been rounded off, almost like a butter knife. There were a few other items he could have used, mainly used as just things to fill the chest (besides the layer of treasure), but the coat was already annoying enough.<p>

The usual shows had been removed in favor of more conventional Halloween party games, with little areas laid out in the Dining Hall and Pirate's Cove for them to take place. The activities consisted of pumpkin "carving" (markers and paint as opposed to knives and spoons), bobbing for apples (which would then be turned into caramel apples by one of the cooks), and a scavenger hunt led by Foxy. Other events ran throughout the day, such as a costume contest where the animatronics were the judges, or a dance party with classic Halloween songs.

Things were going smoothly until a group of middle schoolers, probably close to fourteen, walked in. Foxy had found a group of children that all decided to dress like pirates, and they were happily parading around the restaurant with Foxy leading the way. The middle school kids noticed them, and started to make fun of them.

"Look at those losers, dressed up like pirates!" one called.

"Yeah, what, did your _mommy_ make them for you?" another said, and the group laughed at their… comedy genius. Foxy noticed immediately, and turned to his followers.

"Ye all jus' pay those lubbers no mind. They be jealous," Foxy told the little pirates, and steered the line away from the taunting.

This didn't please the middle schoolers, and they followed the pirates, calling over any mocking insults they could think of. Freddy noticed what was going on and intercepted the bullies.

"Now come now, that's no way to behave," Freddy scolded, "I'm afraid that if you're not going to play nice, you'll have to leave." He pointed a paw at the door in emphasis. The authority in the bear's voice made the bullies falter, but quickly cocky smirks crossed their faces.

"Oh please. You're just a robot, what are you gonna do about it?" the leader challenged. Freddy narrowed his eyes.

"Where are your parents?" Freddy asked. One of the bullies scoffed.

"We came here by ourselves. We don't need our parents!" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I see… Foxy? Kindly ask your friends to go wait in Pirate's Cove. We have a dilemma," Freddy ordered, and Foxy quickly complied.

"Ye heard him, lads, go make port in Pirate's Cove, I has cap'n business to 'tend to," Foxy told the pirate children, "I'll meet ya there in jus' a few minutes." The little pirates nodded and marched towards the cove, looking back every so often to watch what was going to happen. With the children out of the line of fire, Foxy crossed his arms and nodded to Freddy. The bear nodded in return, and turned towards the group of bullies.

"This is the last time I'll ask nicely: Either quit being a nuisance, or you all will be forced to leave the restaurant," Freddy told them. The leader stepped out confidently, unperturbed at the warning.

"Oh yeah? Just try it," he goated, and turned to walk away. Foxy snagged the back of the boy's collar with his hook.

"Alrigh', ye asked," Foxy said, and began pulling him towards the exit. The leader pulled away with all his might, and finally tore a hole in his shirt, escaping. The other bullies cheered, watching as Foxy just barely missed trying to grab a hold of the boy's arm. Freddy blocked the fleeing boy's path, and the bully looked desperately for a way out. He grabbed the first thing he could find and threw it at the bear: an almost full cup of soda.

The liquid splashed across Freddy's face, and sparks began flying as several exposed wires shorted out. The bear began to twitch violently, the sparks increasing, before freezing and falling over with a crash.

"Freddy!" Foxy cried, and ran to his friend. The bullies stared, and Foxy glared at them.

"Are ye happy now!? _Get ou' o' here before I keelhaul ya!_" Foxy roared, and the bullies sprinted away, Foxy following them until they exited the restaurant. The crash and Foxy's shouting caused the room to go deathly quiet, the customers staring as the fox returned and stood over Freddy.

"Freddy? Can ya hear me, matey?" Foxy asked, waving his hook in front of the bear's eyes. They tracked it briefly, and noticeably flickered. By now, Bonnie and Chica had ran up and stared at the scene, horrified.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked.

"Lubber threw soda and he jus' sparked up, then fell. Help me get 'im Backstage," Foxy said, grabbing Freddy's legs. One of the employees quickly dialed Nathan's number.

* * *

><p>An hour and a half later, and Freddy had been reactivated. The soda caused a short on an area of exposed wiring, leading to a failsafe to be triggered to protect vital systems. All that was necessary was for the area to be dried and a system reboot. Soon, Freddy had completely recovered, and went back out into the Dining Hall. Nothing occurred the rest of the day, and when night fell, most of the children left to go trick-or-treating.<p>

Instead of closing early as was originally planned, the Dining Hall was cleaned up, and the lobby furniture pushed aside to make room. Four tables were set up, and upon which were placed a bowl of candy and one of the character's jack o' lanterns. The doors were propped open, exterior lights switched on, and a sign reading "Trick or treat at Freddy's!" placed outside, and the animatronics stood in position next to their respective table. All that was left was to wait.

Bonnie could hardly keep her excitement contained, bouncing slightly on her toes in anticipation. Nathan, who decided to stay and watch, chuckled. Foxy was equally excited, fiddling with his hook absent-mindedly. Freddy and Chica were much more outwardly calm, Freddy bearing a happy grin and Chica a bemused smile. Soon, they got their first visitor: a small boy dressed as an astronaut.

"Trick or treat!" he said shyly, holding up a little plastic bucket shaped like a jack o' lantern to Bonnie.

"Happy Halloween!" Bonnie said back, depositing candy into the bucket. The boy's mother watched with a curious expression, and turned to Nathan.

"That's pretty cool, getting guys to dress up in suits," she said.

"Oh, they're not guys in suits. Those are them. See their joints?" Nathan told the woman, pointing at one of the few areas of exposed metal. The woman watched, amazed, as the others animatronics gave their greetings (and candy) to her son, and waved after them when they left.

"He was pretty cute," Chica observed, digging through her bowl of candy.

"Aye," Foxy agreed, nudging his hat back into place. Soon, a line began to form outside the restaurant as word spread, and Freddy and the others were constantly giving out candy and taking pictures with various costumed kids. Foxy was pleased with number of little pirates that stopped by, happily posing with them for pictures and giving them extra candy. Bonnie had been a little bit too generous, and Nathan had to scramble to a nearby store for a refill before a riot broke out. Thankfully Freddy and Chica were able to cover for the depleted candy supplies.

But the absolute highlight of the evening had to have been the girl who arrived with a big brown fur coat, brown gloves, fuzzy boots, a top hat and a bowtie. She went as Freddy for Halloween. The bear was flattered, and traded hats, chuckling when his too-big hat barely managed to stay on the girl's head. Even one of the employees took a picture, knowing good advertising potential when he saw it.

Not too long afterward, a boy in a fox costume arrived. According to his father, the boy was just a fox, and didn't even know about Foxy, but the animatronic dumped his entire bowl of candy into the boy's bag anyway, forcing Nathan to run to the same store for the third time that evening, finding a bag of candy specially set aside for him.

As the night continued, the number of visitors slowly declined, and finally, close to 11:00, the final children exited the restaurant. Nathan yawned, grabbing a chocolate bar out of Bonnie's bowl and tearing it open, eating it in one bite.

"Hungry?" Bonnie asked, picking up the bowl and offering it to him.

"Yeah, never got to eat dinner," Nathan replied, grabbing the bowl and exiting into the Dining Hall. The rest of the employees cleaned up and reorganized the lobby, leaving the animatronics and Nathan alone.

"That was so much fun!" Chica said, sitting on the edge of the stage.

"Aye! Remember tha lad tha' dressed like me?" Foxy asked.

"Yeah, yeah, you won't stop talking about it," Chica replied.

"Remember those girls that all wore those long dresses?" Bonnie asked.

"What about that boy dressed as that turtle?" Freddy offered.

Conversation continued like this until Nathan walked up, wiping chocolate off of his face.

"Ugh, I'm gonna regret this in the morning," he said, clutching at his stomach, "Alright, glad you guys had fun, let's shut on down for the night. You okay, Freddy?"

"Fine, fine!" Freddy replied, "Not to worry."

"Good," Nathan said, relieved, "Good night guys. Happy Halloween."

_**A/N: Hello, everyone. Long time no write a damn thing. So this is my "Halloween Episode" for Just Another Night at Freddy's (JANaF, or "jay-naff"), just something I did while looking through the submissions. **_

_** Halloween is my favorite holiday (other than Independence Day), so I wanted to make an extra long one-shot in the Golden Years collection to celebrate. I'm looking forward to Night Five, which I'll be starting very shortly, since the contest is over. I'll officially announce the winners in that story, but they do know who they are, so it'll just be for the rest of us. **_

_**For a bit of extra good news (which I'll repeat in Night Five), I'm planning on definitely going for seven nights, and probably surpassing it. **_

_**Hope you have a fun and safe holiday, and from myself, my bestest buddies KamikazeRebel and Arm Chair General, and my whole version of the Fazbear crew, Happy Halloween! –DeltaV "The Guy That Just Takes One… Bowl" **_


	3. Just Another Silent Night at Freddy's

Just Another Silent Night at Freddy's, 1982

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!" Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica all sang on the Show Stage. The gathered children below them belted out the lyrics as well, making such a festive cacophony of noise Foxy poked his head out of Pirate's Cove's curtained entrance, watching with a grin.

The day was December 18th, 1982, and the first official holiday season for the pizzeria. And Christmas was one week away. Of course, the staff had prepared the restaurant much sooner than that, the instant December 1st arrived, and wreaths hung from the walls and on the doors as tinsel crisscrossed the ceiling.

The stage received a new festive set, with a fake fireplace serving as the new backdrop, a paper fire "burning" inside. Stockings bearing the animatronics' names were hung up as well, and a Christmas tree sporting a large amount of red, purple, yellow, and brown ornaments sat in the back right corner.

The usual tablecloths had been replaced with cartoon portraits of each animatronic sporting a Santa Claus hat with the words "Merry Christmas!" written in red, blocky font with a green outline. For the first time, desserts were offered in the form of Christmas cookies (made by the quick-learning Chica and the two cooks, Sal and Gus). Suffice it to say, the holiday spirit permeated through every inch of the restaurant. And Nathan found himself in the role of mentor once again.

* * *

><p>Naturally, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy immediately bombarded the mechanic with questions about Christmas, having overheard a great deal from the children they entertained.<p>

"Who's Santa?" Chica asked, "I heard he's some fat guy that brings presents."

Nathan chuckled from the fake fireplace, checking to make sure everything worked.

"That pretty much sums it up," Nathan said. Bonnie sat on the edge of the stage, swinging her legs.

"I heard that when people are nice he brings them presents, and that he does it all in one night, and visits everyone by going down the chimney," Bonnie offered. Nathan nodded, fiddling with the stage chimney's fake fire.

"Yup, that's what they say," he said, flicking it on. The fake fire fluttered as air was blown from underneath it. The mechanic dusted his hands and stood up.

"Is tha lubber fer real?" Foxy asked. He had heard the same thing from all of his crews, and wanted to know for sure.

Nathan fidgeted.

"Well…" he began, unsure of how to explain it. Bonnie saved him the trouble.

"Of course he's _real!_ Why wouldn't he be?" Bonnie exclaimed. Foxy nodded in acceptance.

Chica rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but Freddy put a paw on her shoulder. She looked at him and saw him subtly shake his head. The bird shrugged and crossed her arms, indifferent. Bonnie didn't notice.

"I'm so excited for Christmas! Nathan? Do you think we could stay powered on Christmas Eve so we can see Santa?" Bonnie asked. Nathan shook his head.

"If you guys aren't aslee-er, shutdown, then how do you expect to be fully charged for Christmas?" Nathan reminded.

"But we aren't open on Christmas," Bonnie countered, "We could charge then."

Nathan frowned. She got him, he couldn't think of a legitimate reason other than to avoid disappointment. He sighed in defeat.

"Fine," Nathan allowed, "You guys can stay up. But I expect no complaints about low batteries, capiche?"

"Capiche," Chica replied. She might not be onboard with the whole Santa thing, but getting to roam around longer was something to look forward to. Sal, one of the cooks, had shown her a few new pizza recipes to try out, but Nathan never let them stay active long enough for her to bake them.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Nathan finished his usual inspection of the robots, giving them all a clean bill of health. He stood onstage looking at Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica in their show positions, wiping off his grease-streaked with a rag.<p>

"Good as always, guys," Nathan told them, getting ready to leave, "Ah shit, there was something I was supposed to tell you… Oh well, if it were important I would have remembered. Have a good night you three."

"Good night Nathan," the animatronics chorused, and Nathan shut them down individually. He then headed for Pirate's Cove, hearing a rustling coming from behind the curtain.

Foxy was digging enthusiastically through his treasure chest, pulling out odd pieces of treasure and junk.

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked. Foxy turned and looked up.

"Ahoy, Nate. I just be lookin' fer somethin' ta catch tha' San'a Claus," Foxy replied, and rummaged further before asking, "Do we have a net?"

"A _net_? No," Nathan replied, laughing, "Why do you want to catch Santa?"

"Ta prove he's real, o'course!" Foxy replied, "I be a little bi' on tha skeptical side."

"Bonnie believes it. Don't you trust her?"

"O'course, o'course, bu' a good pirate always sees it with his own eyes, mate," Foxy explained, "There also be all o' tha' treasure…"

Nathan shrugged.

"Whatever. Time for shutdown, bud," Nathan said, and Foxy quickly stuffed the items he tossed out back into the chest, closing it and sitting on it.

Nathan opened the hatch on the back of Foxy's head and powered him down.

"Crazy fox," he muttered to himself, smiling, and walked out of the pizzeria, clicking off lights along the way.

* * *

><p>Several days later, on December 22nd, Nathan learned far too late what he was supposed to tell the animatronics, when the security supervisor called him in a slight panic.<p>

"_You're, um, you're gonna want to get down here. Um, uh, Santa's in a bit of trouble. I mean, he's fine, not saying he's not, but, um, you know what, you can handle this, I'll see you soon,_" the supervisor had said. Apparently the day had gone down like this:

Management had approved the visit of a Santa Claus impersonator as a way to entertain the kids, and Nathan was to install a particular show script that accommodated the actor's arrival. But the mechanic forgot.

As a result, when jolly old Saint Nicholas walked through the double doors, it was as much a surprise to the animatronics as it was to the children they entertained. To make matters worse, the poor old man was equally less informed in how much freedom the animatronics had to wander around. Freddy and the others were playing their show, Pirate's Cove being closed so as to not steal attention away from it. Foxy watched from behind his curtain, enjoying seeing his friends perform, when the big man in red made his entrance.

* * *

><p>"Ho, ho, ho!" Santa said as he walked in, flanked by surprisingly tall elves, "Merry Christmas!"<p>

The kids froze. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica froze. Foxy thrust his head out of his curtains. All eyes, both human and robotic, suddenly snapped to the large man with a white beard. He gave a friendly wave, staring with a furrowed brow at the animatronics onstage, who stared unblinkingly back.

A staff member quickly shooed Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica off to the side as another dragged a large armchair onto the left side of the stage, next to the large fireplace. Santa strode his way onstage and sat in it, his elven bodyguards standing on either side.

The day manager, Harry, quickly climbed onto the stage with a microphone.

"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, Santa Claus has come to town!" he announced, earning a series of cheers from the crowd, "We are now offering free pictures with Santa for the next few hours, so be sure to tell him want you want for Christmas this year!" He ended his announcement and quickly ran to the side as a line formed up the stage steps.

"Well, that happened," Chica huffed, irritated at being pushed off the stage.

"I suppose this was what Nathan was referring to," Freddy surmised, watching with a smile as children sat on Santa's lap and took a picture.

Bonnie stared in awe, unable to believe her eyes.

"He's here," she said quietly, and moved around to stand in line. Several of the guests she stood next to looked up at her curiously, and inched away from the robot. Bonnie never noticed, eyes locked on the man in red onstage.

Like clockwork, a child walked up, sat on the man's lap, exchanged a few words, took a picture, and was ushered off the stage by one of the elves. As a result, despite the many people that had gotten in line, soon there were only a few people left before Bonnie. Santa sat a little boy onto his lap.

"Hello little boy," he said, "What's your name?"

"Calvin," he replied shyly.

"And what would you want for Christmas?"

The elves noticed Bonnie waiting patiently, still staring at Santa.

"Uh, should that thing be standing there?" the male "elf" quietly asked his female counterpart.

"I don't know… It's weird, it's just… staring…" the female "elf" replied.

While this was going on, Bonnie struggled to think of what she wanted to say to the one and only Santa Claus. Hundreds of questions exploded across her CPU. How did he deliver gifts all in one night? How did he fit his fat body down a chimney? How did he know what gifts to bring? What were those people dressed funny with pointy ears? Was she getting a gift? Should she give him one? What would he want?

These questions resulted in her to continue to stare at the man, slowly walking forward as the line progressed. Finally, it was only her. Santa's smile fell into concern as he stared back at Bonnie. He whispered to the male elf, and he quickly walked off to find a staff member. An awkward silence hung in the air, Bonnie still unaware that she was next. Santa cleared his throat.

"Um, is there a problem?" he asked quietly, dropping his Santa voice. Bonnie blinked, and shook her head slightly.

"What? Oh! Hello Santa!" she said, beaming. Santa's eyes widened in surprise at the acknowledgement. The female elf leaned over.

"I think this is the show they were talking about," she whispered into his ear.

"Oh," he replied, and smiled.

* * *

><p>From across the Dining Hall, Foxy watched the entire scene unfold.<p>

_Well blow me down, the lubber's for real!_ Foxy thought, and then remembered his plan. He disappeared behind his purple curtains.

Freddy watched with a bemused smile, and Chica with a knowing grin. They both knew that this man wasn't the real Santa, but Bonnie's delight made them happy all the same, if for different reasons.

"Let's hope Bonnie remembers the watermelons," Chica said, crossing her arms.

Freddy's eyes widened.

"Oh dear, you know how she gets. Maybe one of us should go over there, just in case," Freddy suggested.

He was about to leave, but the children that had been distracted by Santa's arrival finally remembered the animatronics existed, and soon swarmed them.

"Freddy! Chica! Didja see? Santa's here!" a girl told them. Freddy nodded.

"Yes, isn't in wonderful? Let's go over there so I can say hello," Freddy suggested, hoping to use that as an excuse to keep an eye on Bonnie.

"He's much rounder in person," Chica quipped, and a few of the older kids laughed.

* * *

><p>Back onstage, Bonnie could barely contain her excitement, joints twitching anxiously, giving the appearance that she was shivering with her whole body. The female elf noticed.<p>

"What is up with that thing?" she asked her male colleague, who returned staff member-less. He shrugged.

"They got some sort of free roam or something, that's what one of their guys told me," the male elf explained, "Apparently we're just supposed to roll with it."

"It's creepy, the robots just walking around, doing what they want," Santa observed, "But, a job's a job, so let's just play along… Hello, um…" Santa had gone back into character, addressing Bonnie.

"Bonnie," the rabbit supplied, grinning widely. Santa returned it, slightly forced.

"What a lovely name," Santa complimented. Bonnie's smile grew wider, unnaturally so due to her mechanical jaw.

"Thanks!"

Bonnie couldn't contain herself anymore, and in three steps she pulled Santa into a tight hug, lifting him off of his chair. He shouted out in surprise, and the elves watched, concerned. A shout suddenly carried across the restaurant.

"Ye got 'im!" Foxy cheered, and sprinted across the Dining Hall, quickly scrabbling up onto the stage. Freddy and Chica quickly followed, a group of children tailing them.

Bonnie whirled around, carrying Santa with her, and faced the pirate. Santa gasped for breath. The rabbit noticed and set him down between her and Foxy, who crossed his arms.

"Alrigh' San'a, where be yer treasure?" Foxy demanded. Bonnie frowned.

"Foxy! You can't take his presents! They're for everyone!" she scolded, and the two launched into an argument, Foxy defending his piracy and Bonnie defending Santa.

The aforementioned holiday icon was incredibly confused. What the hell kind of show was this? It was almost as if these guys were making this up as they went along! The look of concern he saw on a few staff members faces as they watched the goings-on gave the man a sneaking suspicion that something wasn't quite right. He decided to put an end to it on his own terms, and stood as tall as he could, clearing his throat loudly.

"Now listen here, fox," Santa said in his most authoritative voice, "If you try and take any of my presents, I'm putting you on the Naughty List!"

The children watching gasped and froze, including Bonnie. Foxy looked around, confused.

"Tha wha'?" he asked.

"The Naughty List, Cap'n!" a little boy who frequented Pirate's Cove explained, "It says you don't get presents this year."

Foxy's eyes widened. He didn't want _that._ The fox scuffed his feet against the stage.

"Oh. 'M sorry, San'a. I didn' know tha' was bad," he apologized. Chica scoffed.

"You're talking about _stealing_, ya big dolt!" Chica pointed out, "Jeez, you guys seem to think Santa's real or something!" She quickly slapped a hand to her beak, eyes wide as she realized what she just said.

Silence spread throughout the Dining Hall after the bird's statement. Freddy shook his head at her sadly. The entire building held a collective breath, bracing for what would certainly be an intense reaction.

"_Wha'!?_" Foxy roared, turning to the man in red, "Yer an _imposter!_"

"O-o-of course not, I'm Santa!" Santa replied. Foxy narrowed his eyes.

"I don' believe ya," Foxy accused.

Bonnie looked at him sadly.

"You're not Santa?" she asked, crushed.

Foxy crossed his arms.

"No. He's _no'_,"

"Of _course _I'm the real Santa!" Santa replied.

"The beard! Try the beard!" an equally suspicious kid suggested.

Foxy grinned slightly at the idea, and grabbed a handful of white hair in his good hand. With a sharp tug, it pulled free from the Spirit Gum holding it in place with a sound akin to pulling apart Velcro. "Santa" winced at the removal, and it revealed a middle aged man, completely clean-shaven.

"Oh no," he simply said.

Many children cried and rushed to their parents, demanding an explanation. Still others, Foxy included, glared at the man in hate. Even more, such as Bonnie, stood shell-shocked, trying to process the dastardly betrayal that occurred by the hand of this fake Saint Nick. Freddy shot a look at Chica, who stared guiltily at the floor. The group of children that surrounded them had long since left.

Foxy and his little band of protesters shouted insults and young (or pirate) obscenities at the clearly distraught actor. Foxy himself was the loudest, and seemed keen on getting revenge on being betrayed.

"Pull a fas' one on me crew, will ye? Yer goin' ta tha brig!" Foxy said, and grabbed the fake Santa by the front of his red suit, carrying him off towards Backstage. The maintenance room located there had a design flaw on its door, where the lock had been put on incorrectly and couldn't be manually unlocked from the inside, but rather from the outside. If someone wanted you in there, he could lock you in without a key, and you could only unlock the door from inside with said key.

The "elves" quickly ran to staff members, asking for help. Most didn't want to get in Foxy's way, and the only help came from the security supervisor, easily spotted in his dark blue uniform.

"Um, I'll, uh, call the mechanic right away, he can fix 'em up, right as rain," the supervisor assured, and picked up the phone in the office, dialing Nathan's number.

* * *

><p>Nathan threw open the doors, and walked in to complete chaos, arriving mere minutes after being called due to driving like a bat out of hell. Kids were clearly distraught, with Freddy and Chica trying to comfort them as best they could. Bonnie was sitting, dejected, on the Show Stage, and Foxy was nowhere to be found. The security supervisor waved him over, standing next to a man in an elf costume.<p>

_Oh shit,_ Nathan thought, _That was today._ He jogged over to the two men.

"What's the deal?" Nathan asked.

"One of your robots walked away with Santa," the male elf accused, "I swear to God, if he's hurt in anyway…"

"Now now, these robots are harmless! Why, these guys hold a special place in these kids' hearts!" the security supervisor said, rising to the animatronic's defense.

Nathan interrupted them.

"Where's Foxy?" he asked the supervisor. He pointed towards Backstage.

"Backstage, I think," the supervisor replied, "Seemed like he was pretty upset to figure out Santa's not real. I mean, if I had that happen to me, I'd get a little cranky too."

Nathan nodded in confirmation.

"Alright, Backstage, thanks," Nathan said, and jogged towards the stage.

* * *

><p>Opening the door revealed Foxy standing with his arms crossed in front of the maintenance room. Pounding and muffled shouting could be heard from the other side.<p>

"No, 'm no' openin' tha door 'till ye learn yer lesson," Foxy replied.

"What the hell, Foxy?" Nathan questioned. Foxy turned around, and smiled.

"Ahoy Nathan, I jus' be takin' care o' _this_ bilge rat," Foxy greeted, gesturing towards the locked maintenance room.

"Who's there? Please, help!" the actor playing Santa called through the door. Nathan pushed past Foxy and opened it. The man inside fell out, having been leaning against the door to hear a reply, and quickly got to his feet and put Nathan between himself and Foxy.

"You alright?" Nathan asked the actor, shooting a glare at Foxy. He nodded shakily.

"Y-yeah," the actor replied, "I quit, I'm not being Santa anymore!"

The actor opened the door and walked back onstage. Bonnie looked up sadly, and gave a solemn wave goodbye.

"Bye, sorry about all the, you know…" Bonnie said, and looked back down again.

The actor opened his mouth to say something, but shut it and continued on his way out of the restaurant hoping to go unnoticed by the children.

Angry parents were gathered around the manager, who tried to explain that Chica could think for herself, and that the pizzeria wasn't directly responsible for ruining many childhoods. The aforementioned bird had an idea, and stepped up onto the stage, giving Bonnie a quick squeeze on the shoulder.

"Hey, everybody!" Chica called, gathering all of the children's attention.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not about to let some guy in a costume ruin _my_ Christmas! Of course that couldn't have been the _real_ Santa! That fatty's probably really busy right now, and couldn't stay down here when he's up in the South Pole-,"

"North Pole," Bonnie corrected glumly from her spot on the edge of the stage.

"North Pole making presents and stuff!" Chica finished, "I just thought you guys all knew that, sorry for makin' ya freak out like that."

The adults cast hopeful glances at their children, hoping they agreed with the bird, while others looked at the animatronic in amazement for being able to deliver a speech like that. Bonnie looked up at Chica.

"Thanks for trying to make it better, but I know the truth now," Bonnie said, and got up and walked Backstage, wanting some time to herself. She ran into Foxy and Nathan, who were bitterly arguing.

"I don't care if he 'impersonated' Santa, you don't just kidnap a guy!" Nathan scolded. Foxy crossed his arms and turned his head.

"I though' it wasn' righ' ta lie," Foxy shot back.

"He was an _actor,_ Foxy, that's his _job_!" Nathan countered, and noticed Bonnie watching.

"Oh, uh, hey Bon. You okay?" the mechanic asked.

Bonnie nodded sadly.

"Yeah, I know the truth now, so…" Bonnie didn't finish her thought, and closed herself inside the maintenance room. Nathan rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ugh, she's _really_ upset," Nathan observed, "I gotta fix this, she never wants to be alone."

"Yer no' gonna get her ou'ta there," Foxy agreed, "I 'spose we'll have to see wha' tha tide brings, aye?"

* * *

><p>Bonnie remained depressed for the next few days, even on December 24th, when the restaurant was closed to the public. It had been decided to hold the staff Christmas party that day with some of the workers (like Nathan) thinking the festivities would help cheer her up.<p>

Bonnie's sadness also had a profound effect on the other animatronics as well, especially Chica who felt responsible for it. As a result, the chicken tried everything in her power to cheer her friend up, even resorting to slapstick comedy at Freddy and Foxy's expense.

"Hey fox, think fast!" Chica called, and hurled a large tomato across the room. Foxy quickly pulled his head back into his curtains, yelling angrily as the fruit splattered onto them. Chica laughed and elbowed Bonnie in the side, but the rabbit's downtrodden expression remained unchanged. Freddy pointed a finger sternly.

"Come now, Chica, don't make a mess!" he scolded, seeing two staff members arrive on the scene to clean up the red splatter. Foxy stuck his head out, glaring at Chica, and tried to help the workers wash the curtains.

"I'm just trying to help sad sack over here," Chica defended, and turned to Bonnie, "C'mon Bon, so Santa's not real? So what? It's still a holiday!"

Freddy nodded.

"She's right, you should focus on the fun stuff, like the party we're about to have," Freddy agreed. Bonnie thought it over for a few seconds, before finally nodding and raising her head.

"Alright, I'll try," she said simply. Chica beamed put an arm around Bonnie's shoulder.

"That's the spirit! C'mon, let's go mess with Nathan!" Chica announced.

"I heard that!" Nathan called over from the stage where he seemed to be working in the fake chimney of the fireplace. Freddy strolled over to see what was going on.

"Everything's ready?" Freddy asked, wiping away a small smudge on the painted front.

"Yup, good to go," Nathan confirmed, and climbed out of the fireplace, "I never did much carpentry, but I dabbled back in high school. It should hold."

"Good, thanks for doing this Nathan," Freddy said.

"Thank me after we pull it off," Nathan replied.

* * *

><p>The party went smoothly, if it was a little underwhelming. The most exciting it ever became wasn't for a good reason. Karissa, the waitress with a bizarre crush on Foxy, decided to pick tonight to admit her adoration.<p>

"Foxy? Can I talk to you a second?" she asked.

"Sure, lass, wha' do ye need?" Foxy replied.

Karissa took several deep breaths.

"Well, it's just… I like you," Karissa blurted. Foxy blinked.

"Tha's fine, I like ye too," Foxy said, not really sure what the fuss was about, and began to go off towards Pirate's Cove, tired of socializing. Karissa grabbed his arm, and the fox stiffened.

"No, I mean… I _like_ like you," she said softly. Foxy stared at her hand for several seconds, then looked up at her in confusion.

"Wha'? Ye mean like a friend?" he asked, completely confused.

"_No_, like, um… you like treasure, right?" Karissa asked.

"Aye…"

"Well, I like you like a pirate likes treasure," Karissa tried to explain.

Foxy cocked his head and pulled his arm out of her grip.

"Tha's weird, lass," he said flatly, and walked into Pirate's Cove.

Karissa groaned in frustration.

"Men," she said, and joined the "party."

* * *

><p>That night, after the rest of the staff left, Nathan bid farewell to the animatronics.<p>

"'Night guys, I'll stop by real quick in the morning to make sure you get charged up, then I'm having Christmas at my parent's. Enjoy your long night," he said, and walked out the entrance.

The animatronics waved after him, and when the mechanic left, Freddy turned to Bonnie.

"Going to keep watch for Santa, Bonnie?" the bear asked. Bonnie shook her head.

"Why? He's not real," Bonnie said in a flat voice.

"Suit yourself, but it _is_ Christmas Eve, you sure you're not just a little bit curious?" Freddy baited. Bonnie grinned slightly.

"A little," she admitted.

"Then let's keep watch, see if he stops by, or flies over," Freddy said, and the two of them stood in the Dining Hall, watching the chimney set onstage. A few hours passed with nothing happening, except the undetectable (to them) smell of fresh pizza wafting out from the Kitchen. Bonnie was about to give up the goose when a muffled scrambling sounded from the "fireplace." A leg, clad in red with white trim, appeared in view.

"What the?" Bonnie asked aloud.

Soon the rest of the body joined, and a large man in a red suit and white beard fell out and onto the stage. He stood up and brushed himself off.

"Ho, ho, ho!" he said with a big wave, "Mighty unconventional chimney you got there! Sorry I'm late, but it seems you guys don't sleep! Oh! I almost forgot my bag!"

The man crawled back under the chimney and rooted around, finally pulling a large sack out of the fireplace. He wiped his brow.

"There we go! Now let's see what we have here," he said to himself, and began digging through the bag.

Bonnie watched in pure awe, and Freddy with a knowing smile. The noise attracted Foxy, who reacted with similar surprise, and Chica who had a similar smile. The man in red pulled out a small yellow gift box, with a large purple bow on top. He studied it.

"Let's see, this one is for… Chica, yes! Come here, Chica, if you please," the man said, waving the bird over. Chica shrugged and walked over, taking the gift with a sly smile.

"Thanks 'Santa'," she said with a wink, and walked into the Dining Hall. The man chuckled, and dug through the bag again, this time pulling out another small box wrapped in red with a black bow, a large box wrapped in brown with a blue bow, and a long purple package with a red bow.

"And here we have Foxy, Freddy, and Bonnie," Santa said, reading each label and giving each animatronic their respective gift. Foxy looked at it eagerly.

"Can we open 'em?" Foxy asked, gazing at it longingly.

"Of course!" Santa said.

Foxy tore his open quickly with his hook. Inside was a ship-in-a-bottle, depicting a galleon with a small label saying "_The Red Fox_" in cursive script. The pirate stared at it and held it gently.

"Blazes… This be tha fines' ship I ever laid eyes on!" Foxy exclaimed happily, and dashed into his Cove to find a place to display it. Santa chuckled as he watched him go.

Chica went next, revealing a cookbook for different types of unique pizzas and pastas.

"Oh cool, a book," Chica said, and looked up, "Thanks Santa!" Santa nodded in acknowledgement.

Freddy opened his present, making a small tear and taking off the paper in one complete place, which he smoothed out and set down flat. Inside the large box was a brand new top hat.

"Your hat looked very well loved, Freddy," Santa explained. Freddy switched hats happily.

"Wow Santa, I didn't know you would go this far," Freddy said.

"It's my job, dear boy!" Santa replied, and turned to Bonnie, "Your turn, Bonnie."

Bonnie smiled widely and tore her package open, revealing a shiny, red, V-shaped guitar, a brand new replacement for the awkward yellow one she had now.

"Thanks Santa," she said, and pulled the man into a careful hug. He returned it happily.

"Believe now?" he asked. Bonnie nodded furiously. Santa looked at the clock mounted at the wall.

"Goodness, is that the time? I have to get going, do you mind if I use the regular entrance? It's really hard to climb up your chimney," Santa said, and grabbed his large bag, leaving through the main entrance. The animatronics watched him go and circle back around the building.

"Convinced?" Chica asked Bonnie.

"Yeah, that was amazing! I'm sorry I got so upset, I just was so sure he wasn't real," Bonnie apologized.

"Don't worry about it, now c'mon, let's go try some of these out!" Chica waved the cookbook in the air and led the way to the Kitchen. Freddy stood by the main entrance, hearing clanging from the Kitchens and Foxy singing from Pirate's Cove. The double doors opened, and Freddy turned to see Nathan half-wearing a Santa costume, gasping for breath.

"Good work Nathan, extremely convincing!" Freddy praised. Nathan shot him a confused look.

"What? I'm sorry I'm late, I couldn't find my beard. Is there time to sneak into the chimney?" Nathan asked, looking desperately to make sure his cover wouldn't be blown.

"But you just left," Freddy said, equally confused.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I _just_ got here," Nathan explained.

"But if that Santa wasn't you, then who was it?" Freddy asked.

* * *

><p>Santa walked around to the back of the pizzeria, humming the Toreador March. He stopped and pulled off his beard, and took off the fat suit, revealing a security officer's uniform underneath, it's dark blue appearing almost purple in the low light. He smiled at the restaurant, and at the animatronics inside.<p>

_Yup, special place in our hearts indeed,_ the security supervisor thought, then said aloud:

"See you guys on the flip side. Merry Christmas," and walked off into the night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Son of a nutcracker, this took forever to write. I just kept thinking of different stuff to happen, but at least it's done in time for Christmas! Imaginary brownie points to people that see the little connection with Foxy's gift. No, Chica's gift isn't the same cookbook that set the kitchen alight in Night Four. No, that is not Toy Bonnie's guitar. He still has it. Freddy's gift is an identical top hat. **_

_**Alright, here's the Christmas special, I hope you all enjoyed and have a safe, happy holiday no matter what you celebrate, be it Hanukah, Kwanza, Festivus for the Rest of Us, Atheists Go To The Movies Day, or whatever. **_

_**From all of us on the "Just Another Night at Freddy's" team (i.e. ME, KamikazeRebel, and Arm Chair General), as well as all of my characters, Happy Holidays!**_

_**-DeltaV "You sit on a throne of lies!" **_


End file.
